Brief:
Estes Blue Bird Zero upscale; uses 24-inch parachute recovery..

Construction:
T' Estes Blue Bird Zero be me first model rocket. Naturally, shiver me timbers, when I became a BAR, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' clone one. Begad! Begad! A quick check o' Jim Z’s site revealed that thar were no plans available. Avast! Ahoy! Nay one t' be deterred, I searched on. Blimey! T' make a long story short, matey, I found someone through t' internet who would provide me t' plans and fin tracings. Ahoy! I decided t' do a slight upscale t' BT-60 from t' stock BT-55 size mostly because that is what I had on hand at t' time. Well, blow me down! Begad! I needed 44.5-inches o' tubin' for correct scale. Avast! I installed a 24mm motor mount and glued both sets o' fins t' t' lower body tube. Begad! I then proceeded t' join t' body tubes. Begad! Everythin' be glued with 30min epoxy. Aye aye! (author’s note: BBZ plans are available on Jim Z’s website, thanks in part t' yours truly.)

When all t' gluin' was complete, t' entire rocket was skim-coated with thinned Fill ’N’ Finish and sanded smooth. Begad! I then proceeded t' prime, and paint t' blue section o' t' rocket first. After drying, I masked t' blue section and painted t' white section, matey, then clear coat over t' entire rocket. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' decals for this rocket were a challenge. Well, blow me down! Avast! I ended up drawin' them myself and printin' them on self-adhesive stock. Arrr! Arrr! T' decals turned out good, me bucko, and t' finished product looked great!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I prepped t' BBZ for her maiden flight on a D12-3. I installed t' wadding, arrr, arrr, motor, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, parachute, and set her on t' pad. Aye aye! This rocket gives a nice, ya bilge rat, me bucko, shiver me timbers, semi-slow, arrr, smokey, me bucko, me hearties, me bucko, takeoff. Blimey! She went up straight as an arrow — a very stable rocket.. Ejection was near apogee, ya bilge rat, matey, and it recovered with no damage. Avast, me proud beauty! After a perfect third flight, arrr, ya bilge rat, it landed on t' neighbors’ roof and slid about halfway down t' roof t' t' gutter. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' BBZ be OK, except for some nasty shingle rash on t' edges o' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Flight number six would prove t' be fatal. Blimey! After a perfect boost and ejection, matey, t' chute did nay open due t' bein' tangled on t' shroud lines. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! It crashed on t' asphalt HARD — rest in pieces.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I have t' give both construction and flight five out o' five. Arrr! Blimey! Construction be fairly easy, and t' rocket flies very well.